Following the grand opening by Shamaeel Ansari, the Fashion Pakistan Week Winter Festive 2017 kick-started with all the glitz and glamour. The three-day event is said to be filled with grandeur as all the big names from the fashion industry have been looking forward to the new trends for the season.
With 18 prominent designers showcasing their latest formal, semi-formal and bridal collections for winter, the audience and the Fashion Pakistan Council seemed particularly excited about the week.
As the City of Lights welcomed all the big names in the fashion/entertainment industry at FPW, the show itself was nothing out of the ordinary. Either there was a collection that caught our eye or it was the specific ensembles that just could not be overlooked. Despite the hype created about Day 1, we weren’t completely satisfied, however, we weren’t completely disappointed either.
The six designers that displayed their collections on Day 1 included Misha Lakhani, Aamna Aqeel, Erum Khan, Obaid Sheikh, Saira Rizwan and the finale by Suffuse by Sana Yasir.
Starting the first show with Misha Lakhani’s collection inspired by Persian, Indian designs. The collection featured ensembles with delicate hand weaved silks and intricate needle craft embroidery. The colour palette was the traditional reds, golds and whites with floral work done on each ensemble. They ranged from lehenga cholis to sarees. The only ensemble that caught our attention was the white and gold lehenga choli carried by Sadaf Kanwal on the ramp.
The next collection in line was Aamna Aqeel’s ‘Palace Wonderland’; which was all about the use of pearls done magnificently on each piece, with a modern touch of off-shoulder tops, bell-bottom pants, gharara pants, sarees and cold-shoulder tops as well. Not only that, Aamna gave this 17-piece collection a royal feel to it with the elegant maroon, black and golden lehenga choli. The modern cuts and flowy designs definitely caught our eye and a collection that received a good round of applause from the audience.
As the day progressed the third designer Erum Khan, presented her collection ‘The Bridal Odyssey’. In the past, we have seen that her collections always tell a story of their own. Similarly, this time was no different, in fact, her showcase featured traditional yet modern ensembles. From lehenga and cold shoulder cholis to flapper pants and trendy sleeve-cuts for the shirt along with the use of chains, gave the ensembles a fashionable touch.
Although some pieces failed to catch our eye, like the red velvet pants and shirt with golden work done on the pants and the back of the shirt, it felt as if too much was going on and the design could have been a little more sophisticated. In contrast, there was an ensemble that appealed to us was the maroon cold shoulder shirt with flapper pants with intricate silver floral work done on them. Not only that, the pastel coloured mermaid ensemble carried by Sadaf Kanwal and the red lehenga choli carried by Sunita Marshall were treats for our eyes.
Next up was Obaid Shaikh, with his collection Husan Ara, showcasing pieces with traditional cuts and designs. Although it is safe to say that the intricate work was done magnificently on the ensembles, it failed to make an eccentric impression. He had used elegant ethnic work alongside Marodi and Raisha techniques for each ensemble. Not only that, he presented a menswear collection with a black and white colour palette featuring trousers and long kurtas. Again, keeping it traditional the colour palette used for his women collection was that of red and gold. The showstopper for his show was Ghana Ali carrying an orange lehenga and purple choli.
The second last showcase was by Saira Rizwan. Her collection ‘Glitterati’ was true to its name as each ensemble was all about the bling and edgy cuts. The mixed colour palette from blacks to reds and pastels to yellows did catch our eye but wasn’t as appealing as some of the other showcases. Sumbal Iqbal was the showstopper for Saira’s collection as she walked the ramp in a pink and gold long flowy shirt outfit.
The finale for Day 1 was by Suffuse by Sana Yasir with her trendy bridal and formal collection featuring ensembles in the pastel colour scheme. The embellished pants and one shoulder peplum tops to the embellished kaftan, it definitely took the spotlight for us. Not only that, Sana made sure to keep the traditional touch in place with the heavily embellished lehengas. The grey and silver mermaid gown carried by Mehreen Syed with elaborate work done on the ensemble made it to the top of our list for the night.
Thus, the show concluded with all the glitz and glamour that once was expecting. It is pertinent to add that even though Day 1 wasn’t completely satisfying in terms of setting the winter trends, we are keen to see what the next day has in store for all of us.